Effect of grinding parameters on surface quality, microstructure and rolling contact fatigue behaviors of gear steel for vacuum pump

In this study, the different grinding parameters were introduced to gear steel for vacuum pump. The effect of grinding parameters including grinding velocity (V-S), grinding depth (A(p)) and feed rate (V-f) on the grinding force, surface quality, residual stress distribution and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) behaviors were evaluated by piezoelectric force sensor, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and ball-on-disc fatigue tester. Results showed that the suitable grinding parameters could effectively improve the surface quality, dislocation structures and residual compressive stress. The surface quality and residual compressive stress interacted to affect RCF behaviors. The RCF life of grinding processed samples (V-S = 30 m/s, A(p) = 0.02 mm, V-f = 500 mm/min) exhibited the maximum mean life of 6.97 x 10(5) cycles. And the main damage modes of grinding processed samples were spatting and peeling.